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George Gershwin

The pianist and wit Oscar Levant, Gershwin’s close friend, once asked the composer confidentially, “Tell me, George, if you had to do it all over, would you fall in love with yourself again?”

Anecdote 2...

A girl whom Gershwin had admired married someone else. Gershwin’s only comment was, “If I wasn’t so busy, I’d be upset.”

Quote-worthy...

“Life is a lot like jazz...it’s best when you improvise.”

~George Gershwin

Anecdote 3...

After Gershwin’s death an admirer with musical aspirations wrote an elegy for him and took it to Oscar Levant. Levant reluctantly agreed to hear the piece. Afer the man had finished playing it, he turned to Levant, looking for his approval. “I think,” said Levant, “it would have been better if you had died and Gershwin had written the elegy.”

Biographical Note:

George Gershwin was a U.S. composer and songwriter. Among his numerous successes were Rhapsody in Blue (1924), An American in Paris (1928), and Porgy and Bess (1935). He wrote music for films and stage shows and such well-known songs as I Got Rhythm and Lady Be Good.